At Reina + Co, we help creatives like you who have all the ideas and want help focusing on the most important things. We want to empower you with the tools you need to take decisive action that will help you to grow a business that's Fueled with Heart.

August

30

2017

GOAL-SETTING + PRODUCTIVITY

How to Batch Create Content so Your Well Doesn’t Run Dry

This is a guest blog post written by Abby Herman.

It’s Tuesday afternoon and you’re bogged down with client work, but you just realized that you forgot to post today’s blog. Heck, you forgot to write today’s blog. You could shrug it off and tell yourself that you’ll just post next week—I mean, who’s going to notice, right?

The thing is, if you have a loyal audience, they’ll notice. And if they don’t, Google will.

Fresh content on your website is one of those must-haves if you want to rank on the search engines. Plus, it’s a way to connect with your audience so you can nurture and grow relationships with those who want and need your content.

But it’s so hard to find the time, right? Between your YouTube channel, nurturing emails, Instastories, social media posts, and on and on…There’s too much content to create.

Here’s the thing: If you take a step back to really develop a strategy, you can batch create content for your business. Everything can work together in one seamless plan.

Sounds good in theory, but how do you put it into action? I’ll tell you!

Have a Strategy

I’m assuming you have a content strategy put together already, so you know what you need to create and when it needs to go live. If you don’t, it’s time to put a strategy in place. For help, check out my recent blog posts on the subject.

Plan Ahead

This is part of developing that content strategy. When you have a strategy in place, you’re planning ahead—well in advance of your content going live. And when you plan ahead, you can create more than one piece of content at a time. Before you sit down to really start to create, know what you’re creating (and why!).

Finding Time to Create

One of my favorite tools for creating content is the CEO Date. Think of this like a coffee chat without the chatting. Hop on a virtual call with someone and set your intentions for your time together. I like to start out my CEO Dates with a few minutes of chatting about what we hope to accomplish during the time together. We leave our cameras on and microphones off so both of us have the quiet time we need to focus on our own content.

If virtual work sessions aren’t your thing, set aside one or two days a month to create content. Be sure to have an accountability buddy on board to check in with you. It’s so hard to think of our own businesses as clients (who need nurturing and support), but it’s vital to your success!

Create Content in Unison

Writing a blog post one day, your nurturing email another day and outlining and filming videos on a separate day is a recipe for confusion and overwhelm. It’s time-consuming to have to get back into content creation mode around a certain topic, and it’s easy to forget your call to action for a specific piece.

Instead, create all your content at the same time. Start with your content centerpiece, the platform that you want your audience to focus on the most. For me, that’s my blog. Write that blog and, as you’re writing, think about what content you want to share or expand on in your video content, your nurturing email, your social media, etc. Everything should tie together so you’re sending the same message across all platforms.

Create New Value

That said, you shouldn’t send the same message across all platforms. (What!? But you just said…?) Let me explain. If you’re writing a blog post about X, your nurturing email, video, Instastories, etc. shouldn’t be about X. They should be about Xa, Xb, Xb+1, etc. So while your content is focused on the same larger message, you’re actually sharing new value or additional value with your audience.

You’re a professional dog-walker and you want your audience to learn how to keep their dog from barking on walks. Your video shows top tips to keeping your dog from barking at other dogs on walks. Your blog talks about how teaching your dog to stop barking can make your walks more beneficial. An Instastory focuses on your favorite bark-free collar. Your curated social posts show funny memes of barking dogs. Your nurturing email for the week illustrates an example of how you taught one difficult dog to stop barking on walks—and the benefits the owner saw afterward. So everything is tied together, without repeating the content.

Always-Full Well

Batch-creating content like this ensures that your well of ideas never runs dry. There’s no more being stumped at what to include in this week’s email because it’s already outlined (or, hopefully, written) well in advance. You’ve added value for your audience so they know that no matter where they follow you, they’re going to get something more out of the content. And you can take one specific topic idea (barking dogs on walks) and expand on it in multiple ways.

As you get ready for your next content creation session, figure out what you need to create and who you’re creating it for. I have a handy template that will help as you plan out your next blog posts, but you can use it for videos, social media or emails too. Grab it below, set an accountability session and get to creating!

Abby is a content strategist and content coach for small business owners, helping to get her clients’ written message out to their audience, in their own voice and on their own terms. She specializes in working with female-owned, service-based businesses to generate ideas and strategies that help to move their businesses forward with content that attracts the perfect clients. Abby firmly believes in the power of educating and empowering business owners so they can grow their businesses without breaking the bank. Community over competition is truly her jam!

When she’s not crafting words or coaching her clients through their own writing roadblocks, you can find her exploring the mountains near her home in Phoenix or finding new ways to get her teenaged daughter to take a break from the school books and technology. You can follow her on Instagram,YouTube andFacebook.

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